BEIRUT: Two U.N. peacekeepers were wounded by an Israeli strike near their watchtower in south Lebanon, Israel’s military said, while blasts shook the peacekeepers’ main base in the area for the second time in 48 hours as Israeli forces battled Hezbollah.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Western countries condemned the attacks. The UNIFIL force called it a “serious development” and said the security of U.N. personnel and property must be guaranteed.
France summoned Israel’s ambassador, and issued a statement with Italy and Spain calling such attacks “unjustifiable”. U.S. President Joe Biden said he was asking Israel not to hit the UNIFIL forces. Russia said it was “outraged” and demanded Israel refrain from “hostile actions” against peacekeepers.
In Gaza, medics told Reuters at least 13 Palestinians were killed late on Friday by Israeli strikes on a home in Jabalia, where Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) says thousands of people are trapped a week after Israel launched an offensive there to stop Hamas militants from regrouping.
The Israeli military said air raid sirens sounded in central Israel and two drones were detected from Lebanon late on Friday. It said it successfully intercepted one drone but one building in Herzliya sustained some damage. No casualties were reported.
The Israeli military said two peacekeepers had been hurt by Israeli fire as it was engaging Hezbollah and expressed “deep concern.” It said they had been warned hours earlier to take shelter. The United Nations said both were from Sri Lanka.
A Hezbollah statement late on Friday said the Israeli military had failed in its attempts to advance into southern Lebanon and was facing significant resistance that had resulted in heavy Israeli losses.
It said the Israeli army was using settler homes in several northern Israeli towns as gathering points and that Hezbollah considered them targets. It warned settlers against remaining there.
The conflict between Israel and Hezbollah militants erupted one year ago when the Iranian-backed group began launching rockets at northern Israel in support of Hamas, at the start of the Gaza war.
It has intensified in recent weeks, with Israel bombing southern Lebanon, Beirut’s southern suburbs and the Bekaa Valley, killing many of Hezbollah’s top leaders, and sending ground troops across the border. Hezbollah for its part has fired rockets deeper into Israel.
An Israeli strike overnight in the heart of Beirut killed 22 people and wounded 139, caretaker prime minister Najib Mikati said. Lebanon’s army said two soldiers were killed and three wounded when Israeli forces attacked a military post in Kafra in the south.
The Middle East remains on high alert for further escalation, awaiting Israel’s response to an Iranian missile barrage on Oct. 1.
In a sign of a spreading conflict, a Syrian security source said that the U.S.-led coalition in Syria had targeted Iran-linked sites near northeastern Syria’s Deir el-Zor airport on Friday night.
